


Margate: Part Two

by HazelNMae



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Gen, Peaky Blinders S5, Peaky Blinders Spoilers, Peaky Emergency Response Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-15 10:56:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20865059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelNMae/pseuds/HazelNMae
Summary: My Episode 6 response fic. Because, once again, I still can't get over it.





	Margate: Part Two

Tommy burst through the door and out into the street.

The past few days had been cloudy and wet, something to which he was accustomed this time of year in Birmingham. 

But today was different. The sun broke through the clouds, pouring rays through the cracks that fell on even the most dark and depressing surfaces. Children milled about in the street, their laughter bouncing around the brick and cobblestone. 

Tommy instinctively raised his face toward the sun as he stepped outside.

For as long as he could remember, he’d loved the warmth of the sun on his skin. Before the war, before things got so complicated, he used to lay in the grass in parks or fields and just let the sun wash over him. But things were different now. And he had no time for frivolities. 

He straightened his lapels and began his walk down the street, reaching into his breast pocket to search for the envelope. In sloppy, almost indecipherable handwriting, was a return address.

The drive to Margate was a pleasant one, although Tommy wouldn’t put it exactly that way. He was lost in his own thoughts. The events of the previous months finally putting their full weight on his head and heart. 

He wasn’t entirely sure why he was going to Margate. Yes, he needed help organizing men for his plans at the rally. Yes, he knew he could find that help there.

Tommy always found what he needed in Margate.

But this time, it wasn’t just the men he needed. It wasn’t just about muscle. About the work. 

It was also about his mind. His heart. Things that weighed heavy on him now. Things he needed to say.

The house was exactly what he’d expected. Grand but unimposing. Gothic but not sad. Almost palatial, but somehow exactly suited for the backdrop of the sea behind it. 

He nodded to the housekeeper who let him in immediately. But he took his time going to the sitting room. He walked the halls instead, admiring the immense collection of decor. Oil paintings, busts, ornate dishes, floral arrangements–things lined almost every inch of wall and every surface along the way. For most, this would seem comical–a collection of stuff that couldn’t possibly mean a thing. But he knew that wasn’t the case in this house. Every single item had been, no doubt, meticulously examined, mulled over, and selected for a very specific reason. 

He entered the sitting room, a song playing casually on the gramophone. It wasn’t a song he’d heard before, but that didn’t surprise him given the person who’d selected it. 

The doors opened right up to the beach. The curtains whipped languidly in the breeze. 

Tommy stepped out onto the balcony to take in the view. The sun had begun to set, streaking the sky in orange and purple. He remembered the last time he’d visited that beach. The turmoil he’d faced. The sinking feeling he’d experienced in the pit of his stomach. The moment he’d pulled the trigger.

He remembered almost walking away for good. The tug he’d felt to go back for the fucking dog.

Tommy thought of that dog now. How that dog seemed to look at him the same way his previous owner had–with equal bits of admiration and disappointment. But Tommy was glad he’d gone back. He was grateful to have Cyril at Arrow House. He often sought his counsel, the same way he’d so often sought Alfie’s.

Tommy took up a pair of binoculars that sat by the door. Looking through them, he spotted a ship on the horizon and chuckled to himself thinking of his long lost friend watching ships as a hobby.

“You out there, Tommy?” A familiar voice rang out from behind him.

And for the first time since the last time he was at Margate, Tommy felt the weight lifted.


End file.
